They sat in silence for a while. Taita was angry and frustrated: he longed to see her face. She seemed to sense his mood and laid her hand on his arm. Her touch thrilled him, but he steeled himself and asked, 'We have spoken much of physical appearance, Eos. Do you suffer from some blemish? Is that why you hide yourself behind the veil? Are you ashamed of the way you look?'
He had tried to provoke her as she had him. But her voice was sweet and calm as she replied: 'I am the most beautiful person, man or woman, who has ever walked the earth.'
'Then why do you hide that beauty?'
'Because it can blind the eyes and unhinge the minds of men who look upon it.'
'Must I take your boast on trust?'
'It is no boast, Taita. It is the truth.'
'Will you never reveal this beauty to me?'
'You will look upon my beauty when you are ready to do so, when you realize the consequences and are prepared to accept them.' Her hand still lay upon his arm. 'Do you not see how my lightest touch disturbs you?
I can feel the beating of your heart through the tips of my fingers.' She withdrew her hand, leaving his senses in turmoil. It took him a while to
bring them under control. 'Let us speak of other matters. There are many questions you have for me, and I have given you my undertaking to answer them truthfully,' she said.'
Taita's voice sounded a little breathless as he took up her invitation.
'You have placed barriers across the headwaters of the Nile. What was your purpose in doing so?'
'My reasons were twofold. First, it was an invitation to you to come to me. You were unable to resist it, and now you sit beside me.'
He thought on it deeply, then asked, 'What was the other reason?'
'I was preparing a gift for you.'
'A gift?' he exclaimed.
'A betrothal gift. Once we are joined in spirit and flesh, I will give to you the Two Kingdoms of Egypt.'
'Only after you have destroyed them? What perverse and savage gift is this?'
'When you wear the double crown and we sit side by side on the throne of Egypt, 1 will restore the Nile and its waters to our kingdom . .. the first of our many kingdoms.'
'In the meantime it is only the termites of humanity who suffer?' Taita asked.
'Already you begin to think and act like the lord of all creation, whom you will soon become. I showed it to you in the images beside the grotto in the Cloud Gardens. Dominion over all the nations, eternal life, youth and beauty, and the wisdom and learning of the ages, which is the diamond mountain.'
'The greatest prize of all,' Taita said. 'I call it the Truth.'
'It shall be yours.'
'I still doubt that you offer me this without demanding some commensurate price from me.'
'Oh, I have already spoken of that. In return for what I offer, I demand your eternal love and devotion.'
'You have existed so long without a companion, why do you wish one now?'
'I have been overtaken by the tedium of eternity, a staleness of spirit and the aching boredom of lacking someone with whom to share these wonders.'
'That is all the price you ask of me? I have had a glimpse of your mighty intellect. If your beauty matches your mind, it is a trivial price to pay.' Her lies were disguised by truths. He pretended to believe them.
They were like the commanders of two armies arrayed against each other.
This was the skirmishing and maneuvering that preceded the battle. He was afraid, not so much for himself as for Egypt and Fenn, the two things dearest to him, both in deadly danger.
They spent the days that followed beside the black pool and most of the nights in Eos's green chamber. Gradually she exposed more of her physical form to him while keeping her spirit soul concealed. Her discourse grew daily more absorbing. Occasionally she would lean forward to pick up a morsel of fruit from the silver tray and artlessly let her sleeve fall back to reveal her forearm. Or she would shift position on her ivory couch and let the skirt of her black robe expose a knee. The shape of her calf was sublime. He should have become conditioned to the perfection of her limbs, but he had not. He dreaded the moment when her entire body would be revealed. He doubted his ability to resist its enchantment.
The days and nights sped by with startling rapidity. The carnal and astral tensions built up between them until they were almost unbearable.
She touched him, taking his hand when she wanted to emphasize a point. Once she clasped it to her bosom and he had to exert all of his self-control not to groan at the pain in his groin as he felt the warm elasticity of her breast.
Her perfume never changed: it was always the scent of sun lilies.
However, she changed her raiment morning and evening. Always it was long and voluminous, barely hinting at the swells and curves of her body beneath the delicate fabrics. Sometimes she was serene, at other times restless: then she circled his couch with the graceful menace of a man eating tigress. Once she knelt in front of him and brazenly slipped her hand up his thigh under his tunic while continuing her erudite discourse, her fingers stopping just short of his manhood and withdrawing as she felt it swell. At other times she reverted to the black robes and kept herself completely hidden, not allowing even her toes to show.
One morning they were in her green chamber and Eos was wearing a robe of diaphanous white silk. She had never worn white before. In the midst of their conversation she rose unexpectedly to her small bare feet and came to stand before him. The white veil she was wearing floated about her like a cloud. The pink and ivory tones of her skin shone through the material as the light played on her. Seen through the silk, her image was ethereal. Her moon-pale belly was as sleek as that of a hunting greyhound, with a mysterious triangular shadow at its base. Her breasts were indefinite creamy orbs, tipped with strawberry aureoles.
'Do you truly wish me to unveil myself, my lord?' she asked.
He was so taken by surprise that he could not reply at once. Eventually
he said, 'It seems that I have waited all my life for the moment that you do so.': 'I want you to have all of me. I will hold nothing back from you.'I set no conditions on you. I expect nothing from you in return but your love.' She threw back the silken sleeves and held up her bare arms.
They were slim, rounded and firm. She took the hem of her veil between those tapering fingers and began to lift it from her face. She paused at her chin. Her neck was long and graceful.
'Be very sure that you wish to look upon my face. I have warned you what the consequences may be. My beauty has enslaved all before you who have looked upon it. Will you be able to resist it?'
'Even if it destroys me I must do so,' he whispered. He knew that this was the fateful moment when they joined battle.
'So be it,' she said, and raised her veil with infinitely tantalizing deliberation. Her chin was rounded and dimpled. Her lips were full and curved, charged with red blood to the colour of ripe cherries. She licked her lips. Her tongue was tapered and it curled at the tip like that of a yawning kitten. It left a glistening trace of saliva on her lips, then drew back between small, lustrous teeth. Her nose was narrow and straight but flared slightly at the tip. Her cheekbones were set high, and her forehead was wide and deep. Her arched brows formed a perfect frame for her eyes, which were dark jewels that seemed to dispel the shadows with their glory. They looked deep into Taita's soul. Each separate part of her countenance was perfect. Taken as a whole, it was incomparably lovely.
'Do I please you, my lord?' she asked, as she swirled the veil off her head and let it float down to the green malachite tiles. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders in a sable cascade shot through with ruby lights. It hung to her waist, springing and curling, vibrant with life of its own.